


I Love You.

by GoldenNight



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-14 09:49:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13587531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldenNight/pseuds/GoldenNight
Summary: Whilst enjoying another trip to the Space Mall, the Paladins stumble upon a shop that could lead them to finally contacting their families.





	I Love You.

The Space Mall had a new shop. It was apparent from the moment the Paladins stepped into the building; a huge crowd was spilling out from the newly-polished shop doors, curling into a spiral of multi-colours at its tail. Lance raised his eyebrows and whistled.

‘ _That_ ,’ he said, ‘definitely wasn’t here last time.’

‘I dunno, dude, I wasn’t really paying attention last time,’ Hunk replied. He took a few steps away from the group, head twisting back and forth, probably searching for Sal. He hadn’t said anything, but everyone knew he was still holding out hope he could get some kind of part-time job there when they weren’t risking their lives fighting the Galra.

‘Well, they’re certainly popular, at least,’ Shiro murmured. Lance shot him a hopeful look; at Shiro’s nod, the younger Paladin beamed and began running full-tilt towards the queue.

‘ _Don’t_ break anything!’ Shiro called after him. His plea evidently fell on deaf ears, as Lance promptly forgot how to stop and charged straight into the back of the alien at the tail end of the queue. The alien, a large, hot pink creature somewhat resembling a rhinoceros, looked over her shoulder at him and _hurrumphed_ in disapproval.

Allura stepped up Shiro; when he looked down at her, he could see a small smile playing on her face. ‘They seem to have cheered up a little,’ she said. Shiro nodded his agreement.

‘Yeah. This was a good idea of Coran’s.’

‘Hmm.’ Allura’s brows furrowed. ‘Well, I would agree that this was all for the Paladins’ benefit, but Coran himself seems to have disappeared the moment he stepped off the ship.’ Her voice lowered darkly. ‘He’d better not be doing anything illegal again.’

Shiro turned his face away to hide his smile. Coran was most certainly doing something illegal.

By now, Pidge had scurried over to join Lance at the queue, a pair of headphones jammed upon her head. She kept twisting around, at one point circling around Lance. Hunk, evidently having decided Sal was nowhere in the vacancy, had wandered over to join them as well.

Shiro and Allura shared a glance. After a brief moment of silent pondering, they gave in to their curiosity and joined the others at the queue. They had all day to explore the Mall; they could waste an hour or so waiting. Even so, Shiro vowed to keep half an eye on the time. The other Paladins had their own specific stores they wanted to explore, and Shiro himself wanted to hunt down a pharmacist. Maybe he could find something resembling sleeping pills.

The younger Paladins were dealing with the wait in their own separate ways. Hunk was people-watching. Lance was acting like a hyperactive puppy let out into a field for the first time (‘ _Oh! What’s that? What’s THAT? What’s that thing-get out of the way, woah, look at THAT!_ ’) Pidge, strangely, was still circling on the spot.

Shiro raised an eyebrow. ‘Uh…Pidge? What are you doing?’

Remarkably, Pidge managed to hear him even with her headphones on. In her hands she held a small tablet; her eyes didn’t leave the screen. ‘Audio guide,’ she muttered. ‘Tells you everything you can find in here. The signals a bit fuzzy, though, there’s too many people.’ She spun on her heel again, trying to find the signal.

Shiro suddenly felt suspicious. ‘How much was it?’

Pidge paused. Blinked. ‘1,500 GAC,’ she mumbled.

‘ _1,500 GAC?_ ’ Hunk echoed, barging into the conversation. ‘Pidge, that’s, like, _all_ the money Coran gave you!’

‘It _is_ all the money Coran gave me,’ Pidge corrected. ‘But it’s my allowance, and I wanted the audio guide.’

Shiro let the matter go. He still wasn’t particularly comfortable with the idea of an _allowance_ ; they were all far too old for something like that, and the idea of taking money without doing anything to earn it didn’t sit right with him. But Allura had convinced him to think about it more as a ‘gift’; and anyway, Coran had looked so eager about the matter that Shiro couldn’t refuse. Something about a reward for all their good work in the Coalition. Apparently Coran had a whole stash of money hidden away somewhere, although _where_ exactly, Shiro had no idea.

By now, the queue had moved enough for the Paladins to see the signs of the shop. Allura narrowed her eyes. ‘A…post…office…?’ she murmured.

Lance spun around so quickly he almost smacked her in the face (Allura glowered). ‘A _post_ office? Are you kidding me? No way!’ Before anyone could stop him, he’d dashed out of the line and was pressing his hands against the window to look closer at the sign. The others followed his gaze; even Pidge took her headphones off to look interested.

‘“ _Send letters, holograms, photos, gifts and so much more to ANY planet with Pastor’s Posts,”’_ Lance read. ‘ _Got a pressing matter you can’t attend? Want to send a souvenir back home? Have loved ones you haven’t seen in a…while…_ ”’

His voice trailed off.

Allura was the first to break the silence. ‘Excuse me,’ she said, ‘but what _is_ this ‘post office’?’

‘It’s like transport for small items and packages,’ Shiro explained. ‘You can send letters and small gifts to whoever you want, and a few days later, they receive it. It’s an Earth thing.’ Privately, he considered the more worrying matter that pressed at the back of his mind; he’d never seen anything like this before during his time in space. How _exactly_ did they know of such an Earth tradition?

He pushed the thought away. This was meant to be a fun day for the Paladins; he wasn’t going to spoil it for them by voicing paranoia.

‘Oh.’ Allura settled her shoulders, her eyes drifting a little. ‘I think I know what you mean. We had something like this in Altea, although it could be rather slow. Father used to joke that we should set up a package transport system using Voltron. It would be more efficient.’ Her smile turned sad.

Shiro didn’t quite know what to say to that. ‘You…uh. Sure you want to go in?’

‘Yes. I’m fine.’ Allura straightened her shoulders, the steely look returning to her eyes. ‘Maybe it will be interesting to see how these… ‘ _post offices_ ’ have progressed over time.’

Alright. Shiro was still a little worried about her, but he knew better than to act like Allura couldn’t take care of herself. If she was struggling, she would let them know. The rest of his team, on the other hand…

The other three Paladins were still staring in awe at the sign. They’d frozen so much that a child alien took the opportunity to push in front of them. If they noticed, they didn’t care.

‘We can contact Earth,’ Pidge whispered. The tablet was limp in her hands, unnoticed. ‘We can contact… _home._ ’

Hunk stared. ‘I can…I can let my parents know I’m safe.’

Lance, in a moment distinctly out of character for him, said nothing. He actually looked a little choked up. Shiro made a mental note to see if he was okay later in the day; doing so now would just embarrass him.

And then, all of a sudden, the Paladins burst into chatter.

‘Oh my _God,_ you guys, this is _amazing-_ ’

‘I mean, maybe not _completely_ safe-’

‘I have so much I want to tell them, ‘ _hey Mum, guess who’s piloting a LION now’-_ ’

‘-she doesn’t know Matt’s alive, she doesn’t know _I’m_ alive, she doesn’t-oh shit, oh _shit,_ she doesn’t know I’m still alive, oh _SHIT_ she’s gonna be so mad-’

‘-battling giant alien robots and all, but you know, like, safe- _ISH-’_

‘-and she thought I couldn’t be a pilot, well I’ll show _HER,_ guess who’ll be the favourite child now, hey, how many robot lions have _YOU_ flown recently-’

Shiro couldn’t help but laugh at their joy. So much had happened recently: what with his disappearance, and the Lion swap, and now Keith joining the Blade of Marmora…it had been a lot for them to take in. They needed this happiness. They deserved it.

Still, though…there were just a few things he wanted to check. He stepped forward to take Lance’s place by the sign, and peered at the smaller writing at the bottom. Terms and conditions were universal, apparently.

_*Pastor’s Posts does not take any liability for damage or missing items. This business reserves the right to deny service to anyone. Prices are subject to sudden change. Please note: Pastor’s Posts does not ship to any planet currently under Galra control, nor will it allow any items or letters approving of, or celebrating, the Galra Empire past security._

Shiro furrowed his eyebrows. That sounded fair. Looking further up the sign, he spotted the price tag etched in bright red surrounded by a glaring yellow star. It announced that the price of one package, or letter, transported to any planet was the low price of only 1,500 GAC.

Lance suddenly popped up behind him, and Shiro started.

‘ _Please_ can we do this, Shiro? _Please?_ ’

The other two set up a chorus of agreement. ‘We’ll be so good, Shiro, please just let us have this-’ ‘No complaining, no ditching training-’ ‘We will be the quietest Paladins the universe has ever seen, honest-’

‘Guys, guys!’ Shiro held up his hands for quiet. When they’d settled, he went on. ‘Of course you can. I was never going to say you couldn’t. This is an…amazing opportunity for you. You should go for it.’ He paused for a moment. ‘Although I would welcome the good behaviour.’

Lance beamed. ‘Thank you, Shiro!’ he said, and he sounded happier than he’d been in weeks. With a whoop, he turned to race into the shop, Hunk following closely behind, both chattering eagerly about what they planned to include in their letters.

Pidge hadn’t gone with them. Her face had fallen, and she was staring at the sign. Then her eyes dropped to the tablet and headphones in her palms.

Shiro realized what was wrong straight away. He bent down and removed his shoe, slipping out the few notes within. Straightening up again, he held them out to Pidge.

Pidge looked concerned. ‘You hide your money in your shoe?’

‘You can never be too careful.’ He shook the notes at her. ‘Go on.’

Pidge looked at him, then at the money, and then at him again, her eyes widening. ‘Oh-no-no, Shiro, I can’t take that. Honest. I can’t do tha-’

Shiro rolled his eyes, took a step forward, and stuffed the notes into her hands. ‘It’s like you said,’ he explained, stepping back again. ‘Your mum’s going to be fuming. Better to get it out of the way quick.’

To his horror, Pidge’s eyes went wet. ‘Thank you, Shiro,’ she whispered. ‘I’ll repay you, I promise.’ Darting forwards, she wrapped her arms around his chest like a vine; before Shiro could react, she’d scampered into the shop entrance, calling to the boys to wait up.

Allura had stayed back, watching with her lips pursed. When Shiro turned to look at her, she smiled warmly, like she knew something he didn’t.

‘That was a nice thing to do, Shiro. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the Black Lion chose well. But…’

Shiro felt a stab of concern. ‘What is it, Princess?’

She shrugged one shoulder. ‘Just…sometimes you are… _too_ selfless. It would be nice to see you looking after yourself for once.’ She glanced up. Apparently Shiro’s confusion (and slight disapproval) was showing on his face, because she promptly changed the subject. ‘I may try out this post office myself,’ she said briskly, striding forwards into the shop. ‘Maybe I can send letters to as many planets as possible, searching for any surviving Alteans. Come, Shiro: I’ll need help choosing the colour of the writing.’

Shiro blinked. He was a little lost at that, but he followed her in anyway.

 

The shop was emptier than expected, probably due to the two bodyguards at the entrance, only allowing a certain number of shoppers in at a time. Shiro eyed them suspiciously as they let him pass. They didn’t look like the Galra, but…well. It was like he’d told Pidge. You could never be too careful.

He’d keep an eye on them.

‘Now, then,’ Allura said. ‘Do you think I should choose pink, blue, or yellow paper? I want something that seems _safe_ and _warm_ , just in case a passing Altean picks it up. What do you think, Shiro?’

‘Uh.’ Shiro’s mind went blank. ‘Yellow?’

‘Mmm. No. That’s _too_ bright. Maybe pink. If I’m having pink paper, do you think blue, black or white cursive?’

‘B…black…?’

Allura gave a decisive nod. ‘White it is, then. Thank you for your help.’

‘No problem,’ Shiro murmured, watching as she strode towards the counter. He was so confused that it took him a moment to realize his Paladins were bustled around the counter. It took him even longer to realize they all looked upset.

_Damn._

Shiro surged forwards, almost knocking over an alien couple in his haste to reach them. Hunk looked up as he approached.

‘Oh. Uh, hi, Shiro,’ Hunk mumbled. He paused for a moment, twiddling his fingers. ‘There’s sort of a…a bit of a problem.’

‘What problem?’ Shiro demanded (maybe a little too loudly; shoppers were starting to stare.)

‘ _Well,_ you see, it’s kind of…kind of…well…the thing is, they’re starting to-’

‘What do you _MEAN, you’ve raised the price?!_ ’ Lance’s voice cut in to Hunk’s stammers, high and sharp. The other shoppers were definitely staring now. Shiro tried to ignore them.

The owner of the post office, a slimy grey alien with four arms and antennas, was leaning casually against his counter. ‘It means,’ he said, very slowly, as if talking to a child, ‘‘ _I’ve raised the price._ ’’

Pidge jabbed a finger at him. ‘You can’t do that! We saw it out there, on the sign, one letter for only 1,500 GAC-’

‘Did ya read the terms and conditions?’ the alien interrupted. When nobody answered, he cast his gaze over all of them in turn. ‘Did _any_ of ya read the terms and conditions?’

After a moment, Shiro cleared his throat. ‘I did.’

The alien locked its sights onto him, looking pleased to have evidently found one reasonable customer. ‘And what did the terms and conditions say?’ he prompted, still speaking maddeningly slowly.

Shiro shuffled his feet. He could feel the eyes of the shopkeeper, his team, and every shopper on him. ‘You reserve the right to deny any package. You won’t ship to the Galra Empire, or any planets under their rule.’ _God, this is humiliating._ ‘You reserve the right to raise the price-’

‘There!’ The alien pointed at him, a triumphant smile crawling up his face like a snake. ‘There, see? _I reserve the right to raise the price._ And that’s what I’ve done. Raised the price. Which I can do, because it’s my shop.’

Allura cut in. ‘That’s all well and good, but you could at least have the basic decency to advertise your price changes!’

The alien looked at her. ‘Only raised them just twenty ticks ago, didn’t I? Do ya expect me to just make up a new sign in just twenty ticks?’ He smiled again.

Shiro felt his teeth begin to grit. He put his metal hand on the counter. ‘Look, okay, you’ve raised your prices. How much to?’

The alien stared at his prosthetic and raised one eyebrow. ‘That a threat?’

‘No. I’m asking you a simple question. How much have you raised your prices?’

The alien frowned at his prosthetic once more. Then he raised his head to stare at them. ‘Hey,’ he said slowly, and Shiro suddenly knew what was coming. ‘I know you. You’re Voltron, ain’t ya? Big giant robot thing?’

The stares from the other shoppers had now morphed into interesting murmurs. Shiro closed his eyes, briefly, and tried to keep his temper.

‘The price,’ he repeated. ‘How much?’

The alien paused for just a tick more than necessary. Then, with all the air of a king decreeing a new law, he announced: ‘ _6,000 GAC!_ ’

There was a brief pause. Then: ‘ _Each._ ’

The Paladins dissolved into fury.

Their anger was so great Shiro could not even make out what they were saying. All he knew was that this price was far, far too high. He’d failed. They couldn’t write to their families now.

This was the one thing that had made them happy in such a long time, and it was gone.

He could scarcely bring himself to look at the shopkeeper, and after a moment of consideration, decided this was probably for the best. He’d end up doing something he regretted if he had to look at that smarmy, self-satisfied, shit-eating grin for just a second more.

‘So what do you expect us to do?’ he asked instead, his low tone bringing a reluctant hush over his team. In the corner of his vision he could see the alien tapping absent-mindedly on his counter, the drama over, his attention gone.

‘Well, it’s all pretty simple,’ the alien said. ‘Ya gonna have to choose, ain’t ya?’

Shiro blinked. ‘Choose?’

The alien shrugged. ‘Say what ya want about me, but I’m not completely heartless. How much do ya have?’

Shiro quickly did the mental calculations, but Pidge jumped in. ‘6,000 GAC,’ she said immediately.

‘There ya go, then. Enough for just one letter. Don’t say I never give ya anything.’

Lance slammed his fist down on the counter, realized it hurt, and jumped away to flap his hand in the air. ‘This is bullshit,’ he muttered. Hunk, too nice to say anything in public, voiced his agreement only with a dark look and a nod. Pidge was muttering under her breath, something about rip-offs and Mum and _stupid_ audio guides…despite Allura’s protests that she wouldn’t be able to afford a second letter even if she hadn’t bought the thing in the first place.

For once in his life, Shiro was glad Keith was not here. He wouldn’t want to clean up the inevitable mess if _that_ occurred.

He ran the alien’s words over in his head, trying to find _any_ kind of loophole, _anything,_ but it was pointless. The shopkeeper was right. They’d have to choose which Paladin sent a letter home.

It made his chest clench in guilt, but it was the logical solution. Even if it wasn’t the perfect solution, he’d rather one family learn their child was alive, rather than none.

He needed to be a leader now, and help them through this.

‘Guys,’ he said firmly, turning to face his team. ‘I’m sorry. He’s right.’

‘Bullshit,’ Lance repeated under his breath. When he spoke again, his voice was louder, and absolutely directed at the shopkeeper. ‘How the hell are we going to do _that_?’

‘Lance is right,’ Hunk agreed. ‘It’s too unfair. Maybe we should just…go.’

The silence that greeted this suggestion was a clear indicator of everyone’s feelings on that.

‘Or maybe not,’ Hunk murmured.

Shiro was about to talk when a mother alien and her baby gave a polite grunt and tapped his shoulder. She held a roll of paper in her hand, and was waiting to pay for her supplies. He was almost glad for the interruption: he had no idea what he’d tell his team, regardless. Nodding at her, he stepped out of the way, and placed a hand on Lance and Pidge’s backs.

‘Maybe you should go discuss this over there,’ he said in an undertone. The Paladins looked at each other in distress. It was no doubt occurring to them that if this went ahead, only one of them would end their shopping trip happy. The others would have to suffer through their homesickness.

After a few moments, his team headed for a corner of the shop, talking in low undertones. Shiro watched them go, an awful pit forming in his stomach. He should never have let them go in here. What if they started fighting? What if they ended up hating each other because of _his_ poor decision? Even the small nod Allura cast over her shoulder, silent reassurance that her diplomacy would come in handy here, did nothing to ease his worry.

He waited until the mother alien had collected her purchases, and then turned back to the shopkeeper. He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. ‘How much did she pay?’

The alien was busy writing down some numbers on a PAD. ‘1,500 GAC,’ he murmured.

‘Are you _kidding_ me?’

The alien shrugged, tapping in a few more buttons. ‘Kids’ discount. She wanted to send a photo of the baby to her husband. Can’t deny her that.’

Shiro wanted to scream at him. God, this was like Slav all over again. ‘Look, I don’t know if you know this, but we have family too. That’s why we want to send letters in the first place.’

‘Do you want to send photos of your newborn baby to your lover?’

‘What? I-no-’

‘There ya go, then. No kids’ discount.’ Finally removing his eyes from the screen, the shopkeeper looked up at Shiro and sighed. ‘Look, are ya done? You’re scarin’ the customers off.’

Shiro glanced over his shoulder. The customers did appear to have slowly dwindled away, and the bodyguards were shooting him dirty looks.

He bent down until he was almost face-to-face with the shopkeeper, talking in an undertone. ‘Look. My team is over there. They have been through more _shit_ in the past two years than you’ve been through in your entire life. And all they want is the chance to write to their families, and tell them they’re still alive. This isn’t much to ask. Tell me what you want in return, and I’ll give it to you, _within reason._ I’ll clean your shop. I’ll go advertise outside. Just…tell me what you want me to do for your business, and I’ll do it, if you’d just let us have these letters.’

The alien just looked at him. Shiro could feel himself starting to get desperate. ‘Please,’ he added. ‘Just four letters. That’s all I’m asking.’

The alien said nothing, and for one hopeful, wonderful moment, Shiro thought maybe his words had got through. Then the shopkeeper spoke.

‘If you don’t get out of my shop within ten ticks or shut your mouth, I am going to go outside and tell _everyone_ that the Black Paladin of Voltron threatened me within my own business.’ His murky grey eyes were cold. ‘Do I make myself clear?’

Shiro said nothing.

‘6,000 GAC each,’ the alien said, finality clear within his voice. ‘Take it. Or leave it.’

Shiro left it.

When he reached his team in the far corner of the shop, they were still huddled around, whispering to each other. Shiro paused a few metres away just to watch them. He hoped they weren’t arguing. He hoped they’d figured it out.

God, he hoped they’d figured this out.

Hunk spotted him first, and waved him in with one hand. Shiro stepped forward, his heart heavy with the expectant looks they were all giving him.

‘I’m sorry, guys. I tried.’

The disappointment on their faces was almost too much to take. Shiro took a deep breath, avoiding their gaze, and instead focused his attention on a pile of stationery on sale by the window.

‘That’s okay, Shiro,’ Pidge said. ‘We know you tried your best. And, well…’

‘We’ve decided who should write their letter,’ Allura said. Shiro glanced at her. Her voice was firm, like with any decision she’d made.

He had to trust that she was making the right choice.

He gestured over his shoulder. ‘Well, whoever it is should be quick about it. I’m pretty sure the shopkeeper wants us out of here pretty soon.’

‘You’d better get a move on, then,’ said Lance.

Shiro blinked. He turned his head to stare uncomprehendingly at the Paladin for a moment. Then, slowly, his eyes ventured down to the hand Lance was holding outstretched towards him.

Clenched between Lance’s fingers was a wad of notes.

Shiro stared at it for so long that he wasn’t even sure how much time had passed. It was only Lance’s impatient cough that brought him back to reality.

‘What?’ said Shiro, too surprised to consider a more formal, leader-ish word to use. Pidge jammed one fist over her mouth and snorted in laughter.

‘You really can’t figure it out?’ she snickered.

‘N-no, I…’

‘Oh, no.’ Lance grinned at his friends. ‘It’s official, you guys. Our leader is, truly, an _idiot._ ’

‘A nincompoop,’ Pidge whispered, her voice strained with silent laughter. Hunk said nothing, but simply smiled.

Allura smiled as well at their banter, but she didn’t take her eyes off Shiro. ‘We want you to write your letter, Shiro. You deserve it.’

‘Yeah,’ Hunk added. ‘You do so much for us, and, well…we wanted to give you something in return.’

‘Even if he _is_ an idiot at times,’ Lance said, unable to let the joke go. Shiro didn’t bother telling him off. He still couldn’t quite understand it-

-until he did.

He couldn’t let them do this.

Firmly, he pushed Lance’s hand away. ‘No. I can’t. I can’t take that.’

‘Yeah, you can.’

‘No, Hunk, I _can’t._ This is _your_ money.’

‘Well, technically, one quarter of that is yours, since you gave me yours-’

‘Yes, so you could spend it on the things _you_ wanted.’

‘This is what we want,’ Lance insisted.

Shiro just shook his head. He couldn’t let them do this. He couldn’t let himself sink as far as to taking money from his own team. He looked to Allura for reassurance, hoping she’d be the one to see sense, but she was still smiling at him in that warm way of hers, like she knew something he didn’t.

‘Lance is right, Shiro,’ she said. ‘ _This_ is what we want. You give up so much for your team, but it isn’t fair. We wanted to show you how much we appreciate your efforts to look after us. And…we want you to be happy.’

Shiro said nothing.

‘You must…miss your family down on Earth, mustn’t you?’ Allura prompted, her eyebrows rising. When Shiro nodded mutely, her expression settled back into gentle determination. ‘Well, then. You must write to them.’

‘But you…’ Shiro’s voice was strained, and he coughed to set it right again. ‘You all have families too. They will be wondering where you are. Your families are not more important than mine.’

Lance rolled his eyes and shared a look with Hunk, like they were in the middle of some private joke. ‘Yeah, but in case you hadn’t noticed, _we_ weren’t the ones trapped on a Galra ship for a year.’ He paused for a second, as if searching for the right words, and then continued. ‘We do miss our families. Of course we do. But…they don’t know where we are. They don’t know if we’re…well. Dead. So…so they must still have that tiny piece of hope, right?’ His eyes searched Shiro’s, looking for answers.

‘Your family thinks you’re dead, Shiro,’ Pidge added quietly. ‘They’ve believed you’re dead for three years now. I…I know what that feels like, and…and they’ll be missing you.’

‘They’ll have gotten over me,’ Shiro said. He didn’t even mean for the words to come out. He couldn’t stand the shocked, pitying looks on his teammate’s faces, and had to turn his face away.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, soft to the touch. ‘Myself and Coran have been away from Altea now for over 10,000 years,’ Allura told him. ‘We still miss it. We haven’t gotten over it. And _don’t-_ ’ she added sharply when he opened his mouth to argue-‘say we were in cryrosleep for most of it. The point still stands.’

She gently removed her hand after a moment or two, and Shiro was grateful. He was starting to feel suffocated. His eyes searched for what they always searched for. When he slowly raised his right arm, they locked onto it, studying every nook and cranny, every joint, every gleam of metal where there should have been flesh.

‘I don’t know what to tell them.’ His voice cracked.

‘The truth,’ said Pidge.

Easy for her to say. Her family were obsessed with space; if she barged in telling her mother about sentinent robot lions and aliens, she’d be believed. It wasn’t so easy with Shiro.

There was a slight movement by his side, and he looked up to see Lance placing the money in his metal hand. Lance gently manoeuvred the fingers until they had clasped comfortably over the notes. He patted the knuckles twice. ‘Don’t go losing that, okay?’

Shiro gazed blankly at him as his team began to move away. They were talking loudly about all the window-shopping they wanted to do, and how there was meant to be a free theatre show on at lunchtime. Shiro watched them go, his chest aching. He couldn’t quite put his finger on the feeling.

 

 

As it turned out, writing a letter wasn’t quite as hard as he’d anticipated. He’d known from the start that, no matter what Pidge said, he couldn’t tell his family the whole, unedited truth. Telling the truth would lead into the aliens, and the aliens would lead into the nightmares, and the nightmares would lead into the…

He just couldn’t.

But as Shiro handed his letter to the shopkeeper and watched as it was placed into a box marked ‘EARTH’, he didn’t feel like he had missed anything out. Not really. He’d told his family, his mother, his grandparents, his brother, all he needed to say.

It turned out the truth could fit easily into three simple words.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
